Michael Corelion
= Personality = While a mild-mannered and gentle soul (if occasionally gruff), Michael has never understood people well. An open-minded philosophy and insatiable curiosity allows the man to seem kind and thoughtful, but he has no skill for subtlety and manipulation whatsoever, and has always been guilty of wearing his thoughts and feelings in bright neon letters upon his sleeve. The man is used to following orders and focusing on missions; only recently has his mind begun to open up to greater possibilities. = Sheet = Attributes: : Physical: Strength 3, Dexterity 4 (6)*, Stamina 3 (5)* : Social: Charisma 2, Manipulation 1, Appearance 3 : Mental: Perception 2, Intelligence 2, Wits 4 * *See Enhancements section. Abilities: : Talents: Alertness 4, Athletics 5, Awareness 3, Dodge 1 : Skills: Drive 1, Firearms 1; Meditation 1, Melee 5, Technology 3 : Knowledges: Computer 1, Science 2, Military Science 2 Advantages: : Spheres: Forces 2, Life 2, Matter 1, Prime 1 : Backgrounds: Genius 2, Enhancements 5, Talisman 5 : Willpower: 5 : Arete: 2 : Merits: None. : Flaws: Construct (2), Demented Eidolon (3), Enemy (2) Dexterity ; Catlike Reflexes : Even before the machine enhancements, Michael possessed a certain bodily grace born of lifelong training and motivation to be a good soldier. Ropes courses were a breeze, and moving about on the battlefield has never proven too challenging. Wits ; Clear-headed : Constant training and actual field experience have lead to a certain levelheadedness despite the severity of any situation. Perhaps its the machine approaching on Michael's humanity; regardless, the man is rarely caught off-guard and always seems to be in control of his various faculties. Alertness ; Paranoia : Perhaps a downside of always having to be on one's toes on and off the battlefield is that constant paranoia warriors seem to have regarding possible threats, and Michael is no exception. Athletics ; Acrobatics : Whether it's flipping over enemies or running up and bouncing off walls, Michael's specialty has always been having a goal and getting to it fast. Melee ; Swords : Trained from birth, and a master swordsman in every sense, there aren't many who can claim to be as proficient with this weapon as Michael. Technology ; Biotech : Between keeping aware of his own limitations and being able to repair himself, this has been one of Michael's main professional outlets since he exited his equivalent of secondary education. Still, he is not at the level of the inventors and head scientist within the Technocracy. Science ; Cybernetics : This knowledge is the partner of Michael's Biotech skills. While the man understands enough about the theory to fix his own parts, he's not one of the Technocracy's geniuses in the field. Enhancements With 15 points in enhancements, Michael has the following: *(10 total) Physical Structure Enhancements: **(4) +2 Dexterity. Machines have been grafted to Michael's bones and nanomachines constantly repair and monitor his joints for improved reaction times and further physical control of his limbs. **(4) +2 Stamina. Designed to last and withstand damage long enough to complete any mission objective, Michael's body has been rewired and manipulated so as to enjoy as efficient a nervous system as possible, along with resistant skin and flesh. **(2) Ability to soak any aggravated damage and an extra bruised health level. All of Michael's organs and bones have been reinforced with special meshes and alloys to prevent hemorrhaging and serious damages. *(3 total) Skeletal Enhancement: **(2) Michael's bones are fortified and will not break under normal circumstances (falling, jumping, etc.); Michael also receives an extra bruised health level. **(1) Having been further padded with shock-absorbing technology, Michael ignores half of any post-soak bashing damage, rounded down. *(2) Replaceable Neural Bypass: Michael is currently installed with a data module that lists some known reality deviants and appropriate methods of capture or destruction, as well as some Technocratic plans and general information. Michael suffers from the following consequences of being a cyborg: *Four permanent Paradox. *(Instead of a fifth Paradox point) If he has not been charged with Primal Energy (Quintessence), the amount of energy necessary for Michael to keep his body active is immense. As such, he is almost constantly eating and almost always hungry. Thankfully his palette isn't very discerning. If the man goes some days without eating, his body will shut itself down into a low-power state (essentially a coma) until infused with Primal Energy. He can last a very long time in this state, but is considered helpless. Talisman ; Nova Curtana : A powerful talisman written of in several books and treatises since its creation, Nova Curtana is a sword constructed almost completely of primium. A prototype model designed specifically for inclusion in HIT Mark Res Nova cyborg construction, this weapon can only be wielded in full capacity by one of these construct mage-cyborgs. Its singular purpose is to be used in the destruction of reality deviants. *Enchanted with the power of Prime, this weapon always causes aggravated damage and will not break under most mundane or supernatural stresses. *As long as the wielder has a small understanding of Matter, he may change the chemical makeup of Nova Curtana for purposes of dealing with specific reality deviants (silver for Changing Breeds, cold iron for fey, etc.). *This sword may be used as a ward against any incoming magic or mystical effects. The sword must be brandished against the enemy magick (etc.) user as if the effect were to be parried; doing so adds either +2 dice on the following countermagick roll or some similar difficulty for other abilities (+1/+2 difficulty to Vampiric disciplines, Shifter gifts, etc.). At the GM's discretion, the wielder may make a Wits + Melee roll to notice the magick (etc.)-user and lift the sword in time. *May be used as a focus. *Difficulty: 6, Damage: Strength + 2/A, Concealable by long coats, etc. Demented Eidolon Ever since Awakening, Michael's Eidolon has always appeared in his dreams as a burning, winged insubstantial dove and not something more appropriately Technocratic as he might have hoped. As it forever drove him to change and instilled in him rebellious feelings against the Technocracy's penchant to keep everything static, it was only a matter of time before treason would grace his thoughts. Enemy While the Technocracy, itself is gunning to find and recapture Michael, his treason struck a painful chord in the man's Commander and sometimes mentor, Ryan Plank. Despite not being one of the HIT Mark Res Nova models, Ryan is still a capable cyborg that could likely outgun Michael should they ever get into another firefight, which is likely to happen at some point regardless of the Technocracy's order to bring Michael back alive. Michael's treason was a personal attack on the trust he shared with Ryan, who will not be forgiving him any time soon. =Primary Apparatuses= These devices offer the Technomancer a -1 difficulty to spheres if when used. Only one apparatus can be assigned per sphere, and only that device offers this bonus. Otherwise, apparatuses may be improvised as situations demand at normal difficulties. *'Forces' - That which acts upon individuals in battle. It is a constant limiter of physical action that can be mitigated somewhat with the use of tools and weapons designed to work within its laws. Apparatus: Sword. *'Life' - The animating energy consistent and apparent in some manner within all creatures. Be it mitochondria, chloroplast, or even hemoglobin, the apparatus that can manipulate the smallest particles of life can keep things moving indefinitely. Apparatus: Nanomachines. *'Matter' - The transmutation of matter requires the manipulation of the most basic of particles, and so requires the use of a device that can analyze such particles and calculate possible alterations. Apparatus: Hand-Held Matter Analyzer. *'Prime' - The study of Primal Energy requires the use of devices that can hold and manipulate this energy for future use. Apparatus: Quintessence battery or similar. Advancement ;Current +learn :Appearance 4: ? ::From: Rosalind Jaffe ::Approved by: Ratatosk ::Taking a part-time job at the Toothless Gryphon Tavern has done loads for increasing Michael's understanding on exactly how to dress, act, take care of himself to draw the best sorts of reactions out of people. Roz has been kind in explaining to him exactly how he can use his already good looks to avoid troubling and combative situations (but also how to get more tips and job opportunities, which Michael is desperately in need of). ;Current +teach :None. ;Past Advancement :None. =History= Once the fertilization was complete, and the cells begain to divide, his designation became HMRNPM-01a. The name Michael Corelion came later. Not everyone has the auspicious start of being born in a test tube. Nor do most have the distinct advantage of having one's genes meddled with somewhere in the process of creche birth. Even as he grew in white laboratory silence, Michael was always intended to be part scientist, part fighter. His body was primed from birth to accept the cybernetic implants that would eventually come, though the arranged marriage of cold technology wasn't planned until some years later. Until then, he had the distinct pleasure of being raised in a Technocracy-sponsored nursery, sterile and perfect, under the watchful eye of legal guardians that didn't really care much for the boy beyond his potential as an experiment. There was little way in the way of imagined scenery, and no perches in which to fly away. Oh, everyone was nice enough. Likely too nice, actually. The boy's every need was seen to: Health, Education, Socialization. His genetic parents that were more donors than family he only ever met in passing, laboratory assistants as they were. If anyone could actually be called parents, it would have been his martial instructor (Mark Kelly) and private tutor (Rachel Goldstein), both of whom seemed to actually have a care as to the boy's progress on a more mundane level. They dealt with his tempers and tantrums come puberty, and walked him through those embarrassing questions of adolescence. They taught him how to smile. But in the eyes of the People, he was, foremost, an experiment. The HIT Mark series of androids were already under research and development, if not pushing towards active service. But there was a certain sentience and will missing in their programming. The HIT Mark Res Nova series of cyborgs were later proposed as a supplement to the widely successful HIT Mark development. These cyborgs would essentially be built as HIT Mark Androids and raised in a military ranking system to live and serve the greater Will of the Technocracy. Namely, they were to be used as crack units to find, capture, or destroy problematic reality deviants. But kind, curious little Michael really had no understanding of such things. His attention was directed towards shapes and colors and the limited imaginations a child can muster without much access to fairy tales and bed-time stories that didn't detail in vivid colors the utopia the Technocracy had planned for every little good boy and girl. But when the lights went out, little Michael's thoughts wandered towards the stars and elsewhere. Perhaps it was his avatar whispering in his ear, or perhaps it's true that no child can be denied their flights of fancy. Not even Michael remembers what he dreamed about in his early childhood, but whatever it was, it kept his mind alive. He would say today he thinks it involved clouds, because wherever he was, he remembers that he could fly. Training began early in Michael's career as a soldier. Why anyone decided to train him in such an anachronistic weapon as the sword is anyone's guess, though the truth of the matter is in Mark Kelly. Perhaps to allow the boy's imagination some room to play, he trained Michael in all the weapons he could think of, leaving firearms to the vulgar HIT Marks with their plasma cannons and gatling guns. To a boy where all fantasy is sanitized, this was an outlet for creativity. He created new maneuvers, researched military tactics, and mostly did exactly what the Iteration X Technocrats had hoped for. This was the case until the boy opened his eyes one morning as a young man, and gazed upwards to a brighter sun and a cleaner sky. A whisper in his ear, and the world finally opened like a forbidden, illustrated storybook. He awakened. This was unexpected. The probability was low, and though such things were often attempted, Awakening rarely considered careful genegineering when it comes a-soaring. Iteration X quickly gathered Michael into their ranks, and unsurprisingly, he quickly took up study in Biotechnology and applied Cybernetics. He was eighteen. But there was a problem. The brainwashing and propaganda had nestled deeply in Michael's understanding of the world, but his Eidolon that was no Eidolon raged in a winged, windy fury against the crystal shell the Technocracy had built around his understanding of the universe. Cataloging and defining, setting immovable boundaries - these became increasingly uncomfortable ideas to Michael as the Avatar whispered loudly in his ear, never quieting. It began as a dissension if idea and theory. It continued as reprimands for disobeying orders. It ended as full-blown rebellion and treason. While Michael was no stunning personality in the Technocracy, he was well-liked, and his combat record was clean and marred only by very few losses. His melee skills were near-unmatched, and his quick-thinking and fast reflexes had saved many a combat maneuver - some of his own design. Many trusted him and enjoyed his quick smiles as much as his deadly accuracy, the former of which came despite his sanitized upbringing. When Michael was twenty, his combat prowess was finally recognized by his Commander, Ryan Plank, as a promotion to only a midling political position at best (it was mostly honorary), but a relatively high position amongst the military strata. Given as he, himself, was a prototype, it seemed appropriate to outfit him with a prototype weapon upon this promotion. It was a concerted effort of many technicians and theorists, and eventually became Michael's namesake. His duty was to collect field data, so the theories might be applied to other weapons down the road. Over the next four years, Michael continued to accumulate the hardware necessary in his ever-expanding duties as a destroyer of reality deviants, and the Nova Curtana never failed him. Expanding his knowledge of the Spheres of Influence became secondary to his duty as a soldier, and so his training there suffered. He hoped that this might quiet the tempest that continued to rage in his mind and dreams, but such things that are ignored rarely become anything but better. Orders were questioned. The parapets of the Technocracy's high boundaries and defined "unity" suddenly didn't seem nearly as strong they did years ago. The crystal shell began to crack. Michael began to search. Were the superstitionist mages really so wrong? Was the Technocracy's view of peace and Ascension the correct way, or was the world slowly tumbling towards totalitarian dystopia? There were no easy answers. Eventually, Michael couldn't bring himself to summon the zeal necessary to destroy as he used to, and the crystal shell of careful brainwashing and propaganda crumbled around him. Only then did his Avatar begin to give him some rest. But it was too late for Michael to go back. The accumulating black marks on his record made the powers that be wary. He needed to be sanitized, brought back to the correct way of thinking, even if this meant direct neural override. It was time to fly. Maybe the Technocracy was right about a lot of things, but Michael wasn't about to let his questions go so easily unanswered. Collecting his things, and enough laboratory equipment to keep his cybernetic parts in working order, Michael began a quiet exodus away from the Technocracy in both mind and body. But he had help. Aware that this would likely be a one-way trip, Michael was able to gather the help of both Mark Kelly and Rachel Goldstein to disappear temporarily, though not without an eventual confrontation with Commander Ryan Plank. Though not a HIT Mark model, Ryan was the better manipulator of Primal Energy, and it took all of Michael's dwindling resources to run away without endangering his "parents". He eventually arrived in Crystal Springs after navigating several cities to clear the Technocracy immediately off his trail. While Michael simply has too much hardware to not be recaptured and sanitised, disappearing amongst the Supernaturals of Crystal Springs has offered the man some chance to breathe. Though there are other reasons. Trying to eke out a meager living at the moment as a mercenary, Michael is in sudden need to either make money and house himself, or find a patron, as his cybernetic parts may begin to fail if they don't receive maintenance soon. =Additional Pictures= File:Raoul bova.jpg File:3cf6d1e6.jpg File:Rphoto.jpg Category:Current PCs Category:Mages